MADISON, Wis. – The Purdue women’s basketball team used a huge second half to pick up its first road and conference win of the year with a 75-67 victory at Wisconsin on Thursday night.
The Boilermakers (9-7, 1-4) took nine 3-pointers in the second half and made eight of them, while shooting a blistering 63.6% from the field overall. In the fourth, the Boilermakers iced the game out going 8-of-10 from the field and connecting all three 3-point attempts.
Purdue connected on a season-high 12 3-pointers in the win. It was the ninth time in the last 25 years Purdue had four players knock down multiple 3-pointers. Six of those have come under Katie Gearlds.
Reentering the starting lineup, Nya Smith paced Purdue on the offensive end with her first 20-point performance as a Boilermaker. The sophomore was 7-of-11 from the field and matched her career high with four 3-pointers and added seven rebounds.
Madison Layden-Zay inched closer to the Purdue career 3-point record, connecting three times from the outside. The fifth year finished with 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 3-of-5 from deep and a 6-of-7 at the line. Layden-Zay finished with nine points with two triples and 3-pointers.
Tara Daye notched her 11th game in double figures with 10 points, all in the first half.
The Boilermakers turned Wisconsin (11-5, 3-2) over 17 times with eight steals to score 20 points. It was the eighth game with 20 or more points off opponent miscues. While Purdue committed 14 turnovers, the Boilermakers held the Badgers to just 16 points.
Purdue won the battle on the glass 35-33. Purdue scored 15 points on nine second chance opportunities, while limiting Wisconsin to 14 points after 14 offensive rebounds.
Smith and Layden-Zay combined for 28 of Purdue 45 points in the second half with 12 coming from Smith. Layden-Zay led the barrage from the outside with a trio of triples, Smith and McKenna Layden both connected twice and Kiki Smith tacked on the eighth to seal the game in the fourth.
Lana McCarthy saved her best for last with six points in the fourth on 3-of-3 shooting with two assists and one rebound.
KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers jumped out to a 13-4 run early in the first, hitting on four of their first eight attempts.
• Daye gave Purdue an early spark with eight points in the first with four free throws.
• Purdue held Wisconsin to two of their first 10 field goals and 4-of-16 in the first, as the Boilermakers led 18-9.
• Daye reached double figures on a transition layup a minute into the second, before Layden knocked down a triple to make it an 11-point advantage.
• Wisconsin hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter to chip the gap down to one at the break, as Purdue held a 30-29 advantage.
• Smith connected on two of Purdue’s first half 3-pointers to have eight points and four boards, while Daye had 10 points and three rebounds at the break.
• Layden opened the third with a 3-pointer to start an 8-1 run to put Purdue back ahead 38-30.
• Five of Purdue’s six made field goals came from behind the arch in the third.
• Purdue scored eight points on four Wisconsin turnovers coming out of halftime.
• The Boilermakers led by 11 points, 49-38, with 2:44 to play in the third, before the Badgers trimmed the gap to six points with a 7-2 run heading into the fourth.
• Lana McCarthy scored six of Purdue’s opening eight points in the final frame.
• Wisconsin closed the game to four points with 3:13 to play, before Kiki Smith drained a corner triple to take the wind out of the Kohl Center.
• Purdue finished the night on a 8-4 run.
• Layden-Zay tallied nine points in the final frame on 2-of-2 from behind the arc and 3-of-4 at the line.
• Despite committing seven turnovers in the fourth, the Boilermakers held Wisconsin to just six points.
NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series with Wisconsin 60-22. The win was Purdue’s sixth straight in the series, its longest since a 13-game run from 2002-09.
• Madison Layden-Zay passed Courtney Moses for second on Purdue’s career 3-point list. The fifth year has 242 career triples two shy of Karissa McLaughlin’s career 244.
• Nya Smith came into the game with five 3-pointers on the year, before connecting on her quartet of triples.
• Madison Layden-Zay and McKenna Layden featured in the starting lineup for the first time ever. It marked the first time in program history two sisters appeared in the starting five.
• Purdue improved to 5-0 this season when holding an opponent to single digits in a quarter.
• Purdue is now 16-1 since the start of last year and 7-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points.
• The Boileramkers are 8-2 when keeping teams to 70 or fewer.
• Layden-Zay passed Abbey Ellis for 29th on Purdue's all-time scoring list.
• Layden-Zay also became the 11th player in program history to play over 4,000 minutes.
UP NEXT
Purdue will head into a three-game stretch against ranked opposition. Purdue will host No. 23 Washington at Mackey Arena on Sunday at 2 p.m. Following a week off, Purdue will play the two Los Angeles schools at No. 21 USC on Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. ET and at No. 4 UCLA on Jan. 22 at 10 p.m. ET.